Birding at Bishan Park

CS Ling got her 500mm lens last week so we decided to try it out at Singapore Botanic Garden. We starts our trip on the Bukit Timah Core but later decided to move to Bishan Park when the weather changed and starts drizzling. I saw this pair of Sunda pygmy wood pecker pecking on the tree trunk for breakfast.

This oil palm tree seem to be support a variety of animals of the park which include this squirrel.
Below the tree was this Magpie Robin bird that like to sing.The Asian glossy staring also pick on the palm fruit that left behind and drop to the ground by the long tail parakeets on the tree.
Competition for foods is fierce on the tree too. These 2 parakeets are fighting for this bunch of oil palm fruits.

On the other side of the park, this squirrel is having fun with this sign.

The weather changed and it started to drizzle so we decided to move to Bishan Park to continue our exploration.This was the first bird that we saw when we arrived at Bishan Park - a nice flower pecker!The Sunda pygmy woodpecker are found at Bishan Park too.

The Common lora was feeding on the fruits that is abundance in the park.

A very cute White eye bird is feeding too.

This Dollar bird perched high on the tree top looking for flying insects for food.
Do you have a feeling of autumn with this thick layer of dried leaf on the floor?

The dark cloud starts forming over Bishan area so we end our trip with comparing the 2 lenses. Just look at the huge 500mm lens compare with the 80-400mm lens on the right!

Magpie Robin

Magpie Robin used to be very common in Singapore but was almost wipe out during 70's due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade and competition from the Mynas.

Is a good sign to see juvenile Magpie Robin roam and feed freely at Botanic Garden.

Saw this juvenile Magpie Robin last Sunday when I visit Botanic Garden with Ling.
This juvenile is very 'playful', it will not miss any thing that is above the ground such as this flower petal.Those that are under the ground also will not be missed such as earth worms.

This bird is a rather hard working one.
The bird will close their 'eye-lids' (nictitating membrane) whenever they caught a worms and flick it to the air to remove the soil. This translucent membrane will prevent the soils get into the eyes and act as a protection for the bird. Once the worm is cleaned, the bird will just swallow it.